Medical catheters, drainage tubes such as urinary (Foley) catheters, and other tubes such as tracheal tubes and central venous catheters, are often used on sensitive mucosal or wound surfaces and can cause pain, discomfort, and/or infection. For example, a Foley catheter, which is a soft, thin rubber tube with a balloon at one end to hold it in place within the bladder, is often used to drain urine from the bladder. It can remain in place for a short or long period of time, and is inserted through the urinary duct (urethra) and into the bladder. As a Foley catheter is used typically when normal urination is disrupted by infection, a swollen prostate gland, bladder stones, injury, or the like, the insertion and use of this device in this already sensitive area can be uncomfortable or become a foreign surface on which biofilm or other microbes can grow. Biofilm in particular, in which bacteria can hide, can form on the surfaces of the catheters, tubes, and other medical devices that are in contact with mammalian mucosa, wound, or other tissues for longer than a few days. Thus, long term use of Foley catheter is often associated with infection in the urinary tract. Furthermore, the use of central venous catheters sometimes causes dangerous infections. As a result of this and other shortcomings, there is a need to provide medical devices and methods of using them with a decreased degree of discomfort and/or decreased possibility of infections.